Smile
by 27dayz
Summary: Usually the little boy with ebony hair called out for his father. Tonight, he called out for the woman who could always make him smile. He called out for his mother.


Smile

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

"Ma!" a little boy with ebony hair called from his crib, "Ma!" he cried. Across the hall, his mother shot out of bed, causing her husband to moan a little in his sleep, but he was otherwise undisturbed.

"He could sleep through stampede of hippogriffs," the woman muttered as she tied her nightgown and crossed the hall.

"Ma!" the boy called, glee on his small face when he saw her enter. She smiled at him and gently lifted him from the cot.

"This is a change," she commented, rocking her son, "Usually you call for Daddy."

"Ma," the boy said again, as if to convince her that she was his first choice, before contenting himself to nibbling on her long auburn hair. She smiled as she carried him to the rocking chair and sat down. He settled contently in her lap and allowed her to brush the messy dark hair from his eyes. She knew that this was unusual for her small son. He was going through this phase where he would cry out if anyone touched his hair. She had a suspicion that this 'phase' would be permanent.

"You just had to inherit his hair, didn't you?" she asked, sighing as the hair she had brushed away drooped back into the child's face. He giggled, as though he took pleasure from making his mother frustrated. This wasn't a good sign. Now, more than ever, she was convinced that her son was going to make her red hair turn grey before she was thirty.

Yet she couldn't help but smile at her son's radiant grin. It was infectious. She was certain that someday, some pretty little girl would fall in love with his smile, just as she had fallen in love with his father's smile. She caressed the side of his chubby little face and sighed contently, "You are going to be so handsome, just like Daddy. One day, you are going to meet a lovely young lady, who loves your smile, and you are going to love her as much as I love your daddy. Then, when you grow up, you are going to give me lots of grandchildren, and I won't take 'no' for an answer young man," she told him in a stern tone that made him giggle again. Another sign that indicated that she was holding a future troublemaker in her lap.

"My mother said the exact same thing to me when I was growing up," she continued, "Grandpa said that he'd hex any boy that came within ten yards of me. He said that he wouldn't allow some nasty boy to take advantage of his baby girl. He made my brother's promise to curse any boy who tried to touch to their baby sister," she told her son, "But they like Daddy," she added in an afterthought.

Her son, however, had perked up at the mention of the word, 'baby'. With much enthusiasm, he pointed to her large tummy and exclaimed, "Baby!"

She laughed and stroked her son's head, "That's right, James. That's where the baby is, for now, anyways."

He gurgled happily and placed a small hand on her stomach, like he, Daddy, and Teddy had done earlier that day. His eyes got big when he felt the baby kick from inside his mother.

"That's your little brother or sister, James," she told him, still stroking his small head, "The baby likes you."

James didn't look convinced. He eyed his mother's stomach warily, but edged closer again when his mother smiled warmly at him. He put the hand back on her abdomen, but he didn't pull back when the baby kicked again. He looked determined not to be afraid and looked to his mother for approval when he didn't jump.

"Such a brave little boy," she commented, "I hope that means you like the baby, James. I hope that means you are going to be a good big brother. I know that you two will probably have your differences, but I hope that you'll always be there for each other, just like my brothers were always there for me. I'll always love you both."

Ginny sighed and continued to rock the chair with her feet, eventually lulling James to sleep.

"Sweet dreams, handsome," she murmured, covering him with the blanket.

From the doorway, Harry Potter's heart warmed as he watched as his wife gently placed their son back in his cot. He knew the love that radiated from her eyes as she stared at her baby boy, who was smiling as he slept.

And somehow, Harry knew that on a night exactly like this, twenty-six years ago, his father had stood in a doorway, watching as his wife tucked their son into bed. And Harry knew that his father had felt the exact same way as he did as he watched the woman he loved make his son smile.

The End

AN: Sooo…how many people thought it was Lily and Harry in the beginning? I was considering making it a Lily/Harry story, but that's been done to death, so I thought I'd try something new. No one has really done a moment between Ginny and James, so I thought I'd give it a go. What do you think?


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